C APTITUDE

Void pointer is a generic pointer type. No pointer arithmetic can be done on it. Void pointers are normally used for,

1.Passing generic pointers to functions and returning such pointers.

2.As a intermediate pointer type.

3.Used when the exact pointer type will be known at a later point of time.

102) void main()

{

int i=i++,j=j++,k=k++;

printf(“%d%d%d”,i,j,k);

}

Answer:

Garbage values.

Explanation:

An identifier is available to use in program code from the point of its declaration.

So expressions such as i = i++ are valid statements. The i, j and k are automatic variables and so they contain some garbage value. Garbage in is garbage out (GIGO).

103) void main()

{

static int i=i++, j=j++, k=k++;

printf(“i = %d j = %d k = %d”, i, j, k);

}

Answer:

i = 1 j = 1 k = 1

Explanation:

Since static variables are initialized to zero by default.

104) void main()

{

while(1){

if(printf("%d",printf("%d")))

break;

else

continue;

}

}

Answer:

Garbage values

Explanation:

The inner printf executes first to print some garbage value. The printf returns no of characters printed and this value also cannot be predicted. Still the outer printf prints something and so returns a non-zero value. So it encounters the break statement and comes out of the while statement.

105) main()

{

unsigned int i=10;

while(i-->=0)

printf("%u ",i);

}

Answer:

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 65535 65534…..

Explanation:

Since i is an unsigned integer it can never become negative. So the expression i-- >=0 will always be true, leading to an infinite loop.

106) #include<conio.h>

main()

{

int x,y=2,z,a;

if(x=y%2) z=2;

a=2;

printf("%d %d ",z,x);

}

Answer:

Garbage-value 0

Explanation:

The value of y%2 is 0. This value is assigned to x. The condition reduces to if (x) or in other words if(0) and so z goes uninitialized.

Thumb Rule: Check all control paths to write bug free code.

107) main()

{

int a[10];

printf("%d",*a+1-*a+3);

}

Answer:

4

Explanation:

*a and -*a cancels out. The result is as simple as 1 + 3 = 4 !

108) #define prod(a,b) a*b

main()

{

int x=3,y=4;

printf("%d",prod(x+2,y-1));

}

Answer:

10

Explanation:

The macro expands and evaluates to as:

x+2*y-1 => x+(2*y)-1 => 10

109) main()

{

unsigned int i=65000;

while(i++!=0);

printf("%d",i);

}

Answer:

1

Explanation:

Note the semicolon after the while statement. When the value of i becomes 0 it comes out of while loop. Due to post-increment on i the value of i while printing is 1.

110) main()

{

int i=0;

while(+(+i--)!=0)

i-=i++;

printf("%d",i);

}

Answer:

-1

Explanation:

Unary + is the only dummy operator in C. So it has no effect on the expression and now the while loop is, while(i--!=0) which is false and so breaks out of while loop. The value –1 is printed due to the post-decrement operator.

111) main()

{

float f=5,g=10;

enum{i=10,j=20,k=50};

printf("%d\n",++k);

printf("%f\n",f<<2);

printf("%lf\n",f%g);

printf("%lf\n",fmod(f,g));

}

Answer:

Line no 5: Error: Lvalue required

Line no 6: Cannot apply leftshift to float

Line no 7: Cannot apply mod to float

Explanation:

Enumeration constants cannot be modified, so you cannot apply ++.

Bit-wise operators and % operators cannot be applied on float values.

fmod() is to find the modulus values for floats as % operator is for ints.

112) main()

{

int i=10;

void pascal f(int,int,int);

f(i++,i++,i++);

printf(" %d",i);

}

void pascal f(integer :i,integer:j,integer :k)

{

write(i,j,k);

}

Answer:

Compiler error: unknown type integer

Compiler error: undeclared function write

Explanation:

Pascal keyword doesn’t mean that pascal code can be used. It means that the function follows Pascal argument passing mechanism in calling the functions.

113) void pascal f(int i,int j,int k)

{

printf(“%d %d %d”,i, j, k);

}

void cdecl f(int i,int j,int k)

{

printf(“%d %d %d”,i, j, k);

}

main()

{

int i=10;

f(i++,i++,i++);

printf(" %d\n",i);

i=10;

f(i++,i++,i++);

printf(" %d",i);

}

Answer:

10 11 12 13

12 11 10 13

Explanation:

Pascal argument passing mechanism forces the arguments to be called from left to right. cdecl is the normal C argument passing mechanism where the arguments are passed from right to left.

114) What is the output of the program given below

main()

{

signed char i=0;

for(;i>=0;i++) ;

printf("%d\n",i);

}

Answer

-128

Explanation

Notice the semicolon at the end of the for loop. THe initial value of the i is set to 0. The inner loop executes to increment the value from 0 to 127 (the positive range of char) and then it rotates to the negative value of -128. The condition in the for loop fails and so comes out of the for loop. It prints the current value of i that is -128.

115) main()

{

unsigned char i=0;

for(;i>=0;i++) ;

printf("%d\n",i);

}

Answer

infinite loop

Explanation

The difference between the previous question and this one is that the char is declared to be unsigned. So the i++ can never yield negative value and i>=0 never becomes false so that it can come out of the for loop.

116) main()

{

char i=0;

for(;i>=0;i++) ;

printf("%d\n",i);

}

Answer:

Behavior is implementation dependent.

Explanation:

The detail if the char is signed/unsigned by default is implementation dependent. If the implementation treats the char to be signed by default the program will print –128 and terminate. On the other hand if it considers char to be unsigned by default, it goes to infinite loop.

Rule:

You can write programs that have implementation dependent behavior. But dont write programs that depend on such behavior.

117) Is the following statement a declaration/definition. Find what does it mean?

int (*x)[10];

Answer

Definition.

x is a pointer to array of(size 10) integers.

Apply clock-wise rule to find the meaning of this definition.

118) What is the output for the program given below

typedef enum errorType{warning, error, exception,}error;

main()

{

error g1;

g1=1;

printf("%d",g1);

}

Answer

Compiler error: Multiple declaration for error

Explanation

The name error is used in the two meanings. One means that it is a enumerator constant with value 1. The another use is that it is a type name (due to typedef) for enum errorType. Given a situation the compiler cannot distinguish the meaning of error to know in what sense the error is used:

error g1;

g1=error;

// which error it refers in each case?

When the compiler can distinguish between usages then it will not issue error (in pure technical terms, names can only be overloaded in different namespaces).

Note: the extra comma in the declaration,

enum errorType{warning, error, exception,}

is not an error. An extra comma is valid and is provided just for programmer’s convenience.

119) typedef struct error{int warning, error, exception;}error;

main()

{

error g1;

g1.error =1;

printf("%d",g1.error);

}

Answer

1

Explanation

The three usages of name errors can be distinguishable by the compiler at any instance, so valid (they are in different namespaces).

Typedef struct error{int warning, error, exception;}error;

This error can be used only by preceding the error by struct kayword as in:

struct error someError;

typedef struct error{int warning, error, exception;}error;

This can be used only after . (dot) or -> (arrow) operator preceded by the variable name as in :

g1.error =1;

printf("%d",g1.error);

typedef struct error{int warning, error, exception;}error;

This can be used to define variables without using the preceding struct keyword as in:

error g1;

Since the compiler can perfectly distinguish between these three usages, it is perfectly legal and valid.

Note

This code is given here to just explain the concept behind. In real programming don’t use such overloading of names. It reduces the readability of the code. Possible doesn’t mean that we should use it!

120) #ifdef something

int some=0;

#endif

main()

{

int thing = 0;

printf("%d %d\n", some ,thing);

}

Answer:

Compiler error : undefined symbol some

Explanation:

This is a very simple example for conditional compilation. The name something is not already known to the compiler making the declaration

int some = 0;

effectively removed from the source code.

121) #if something == 0

int some=0;

#endif

main()

{

int thing = 0;

printf("%d %d\n", some ,thing);

}

Answer

0 0

Explanation

This code is to show that preprocessor expressions are not the same as the ordinary expressions. If a name is not known the preprocessor treats it to be equal to zero.

122) What is the output for the following program

main()

{

int arr2D[3][3];

printf("%d\n", ((arr2D==* arr2D)&&(* arr2D == arr2D[0])) );

}

Answer

1

Explanation

This is due to the close relation between the arrays and pointers. N dimensional arrays are made up of (N-1) dimensional arrays.

arr2D is made up of a 3 single arrays that contains 3 integers each .

The name arr2D refers to the beginning of all the 3 arrays. *arr2D refers to the start of the first 1D array (of 3 integers) that is the same address as arr2D. So the expression (arr2D == *arr2D) is true (1).

Similarly, *arr2D is nothing but *(arr2D + 0), adding a zero doesn’t change the value/meaning. Again arr2D[0] is the another way of telling *(arr2D + 0). So the expression (*(arr2D + 0) == arr2D[0]) is true (1).

Since both parts of the expression evaluates to true the result is true(1) and the same is printed.

123) void main()

{

if(~0 == (unsigned int)-1)

printf(“You can answer this if you know how values are represented in memory”);

}

Answer

You can answer this if you know how values are represented in memory

Explanation

~ (tilde operator or bit-wise negation operator) operates on 0 to produce all ones to fill the space for an integer. –1 is represented in unsigned value as all 1’s and so both are equal.

124) int swap(int *a,int *b)

{

*a=*a+*b;*b=*a-*b;*a=*a-*b;

}

main()

{

int x=10,y=20;

swap(&x,&y);

printf("x= %d y = %d\n",x,y);

}

Answer

x = 20 y = 10

Explanation

This is one way of swapping two values. Simple checking will help understand this.

125) main()

{

char *p = “ayqm”;

printf(“%c”,++*(p++));

}

Answer:

b

126) main()

{

int i=5;

printf("%d",++i++);

}

Answer:

Compiler error: Lvalue required in function main

Explanation:

++i yields an rvalue. For postfix ++ to operate an lvalue is required.

127) main()

{

char *p = “ayqm”;

char c;

c = ++*p++;

printf(“%c”,c);

}

Answer:

b

Explanation:

There is no difference between the expression ++*(p++) and ++*p++. Parenthesis just works as a visual clue for the reader to see which expression is first evaluated.

128)

int aaa() {printf(“Hi”);}

int bbb(){printf(“hello”);}

iny ccc(){printf(“bye”);}

main()

{

int ( * ptr[3]) ();

ptr[0] = aaa;

ptr[1] = bbb;

ptr[2] =ccc;

ptr[2]();

}

Answer:

bye

Explanation:

int (* ptr[3])() says that ptr is an array of pointers to functions that takes no arguments and returns the type int. By the assignment ptr[0] = aaa; it means that the first function pointer in the array is initialized with the address of the function aaa. Similarly, the other two array elements also get initialized with the addresses of the functions bbb and ccc. Since ptr[2] contains the address of the function ccc, the call to the function ptr[2]() is same as calling ccc(). So it results in printing "bye".

129)

main()

{

int i=5;

printf(“%d”,i=++i ==6);

}

Answer:

1

Explanation:

The expression can be treated as i = (++i==6), because == is of higher precedence than = operator. In the inner expression, ++i is equal to 6 yielding true(1). Hence the result.

130) main()

{

char p[ ]="%d\n";

p[1] = 'c';

printf(p,65);

}

Answer:

A

Explanation:

Due to the assignment p[1] = ‘c’ the string becomes, “%c\n”. Since this string becomes the format string for printf and ASCII value of 65 is ‘A’, the same gets printed.

131) void ( * abc( int, void ( *def) () ) ) ();

Answer::

abc is a ptr to a function which takes 2 parameters .(a). an integer variable.(b). a ptrto a funtion which returns void. the return type of the function is void.

Explanation:

Apply the clock-wise rule to find the result.

132) main()

{

while (strcmp(“some”,”some\0”))

printf(“Strings are not equal\n”);

}

Answer:

No output

Explanation:

Ending the string constant with \0 explicitly makes no difference. So “some” and “some\0” are equivalent. So, strcmp returns 0 (false) hence breaking out of the while loop.

133) main()

{

char str1[] = {‘s’,’o’,’m’,’e’};

char str2[] = {‘s’,’o’,’m’,’e’,’\0’};

while (strcmp(str1,str2))

printf(“Strings are not equal\n”);

}

Answer:

“Strings are not equal”

“Strings are not equal”

….

Explanation:

If a string constant is initialized explicitly with characters, ‘\0’ is not appended automatically to the string. Since str1 doesn’t have null termination, it treats whatever the values that are in the following positions as part of the string until it randomly reaches a ‘\0’. So str1 and str2 are not the same, hence the result.

134) main()

{

int i = 3;

for (;i++=0;) printf(“%d”,i);

}

Answer:

Compiler Error: Lvalue required.

Explanation:

As we know that increment operators return rvalues and hence it cannot appear on the left hand side of an assignment operation.

Since i is static it is initialized to 0. Inside the while loop the conditional operator evaluates to false, executing i--. This continues till the integer value rotates to positive value (32767). The while condition becomes false and hence, comes out of the while loop, printing the i value.

137) main()

{

int i=10,j=20;

j = i, j?(i,j)?i:j:j;

printf("%d %d",i,j);

}

Answer:

10 10

Explanation:

The Ternary operator ( ? : ) is equivalent for if-then-else statement. So the question can be written as:

if(i,j)

{

if(i,j)

j = i;

else

j = j;

}

else

j = j;

138) 1. const char *a;

2. char* const a;

3. char const *a;

-Differentiate the above declarations.

Answer:

1. 'const' applies to char * rather than 'a' ( pointer to a constant char )

*a='F' : illegal

a="Hi" : legal

2. 'const' applies to 'a' rather than to the value of a (constant pointer to char )

*a='F' : legal

a="Hi" : illegal

3. Same as 1.

139) main()

{

int i=5,j=10;

i=i&=j&&10;

printf("%d %d",i,j);

}

Answer:

1 10

Explanation:

The expression can be written as i=(i&=(j&&10)); The inner expression (j&&10) evaluates to 1 because j==10. i is 5. i = 5&1 is 1. Hence the result.

140) main()

{

int i=4,j=7;

j = j || i++ && printf("YOU CAN");

printf("%d %d", i, j);

}

Answer:

4 1

Explanation:

The boolean expression needs to be evaluated only till the truth value of the expression is not known. j is not equal to zero itself means that the expression’s truth value is 1. Because it is followed by || and true || (anything) => true where (anything) will not be evaluated. So the remaining expression is not evaluated and so the value of i remains the same.

Similarly when && operator is involved in an expression, when any of the operands become false, the whole expression’s truth value becomes false and hence the remaining expression will not be evaluated.

false && (anything) => false where (anything) will not be evaluated.

141) main()

{

register int a=2;

printf("Address of a = %d",&a);

printf("Value of a = %d",a);

}

Answer:

Compier Error: '&' on register variable

Rule to Remember:

& (address of ) operator cannot be applied on register variables.

142) main()

{

float i=1.5;

switch(i)

{

case 1: printf("1");

case 2: printf("2");

default : printf("0");

}

}

Answer:

Compiler Error: switch expression not integral

Explanation:

Switch statements can be applied only to integral types.

143) main()

{

extern i;

printf("%d\n",i);

{

int i=20;

printf("%d\n",i);

}

}

Answer:

Linker Error : Unresolved external symbol i

Explanation:

The identifier i is available in the inner block and so using extern has no use in resolving it.

144) main()

{

int a=2,*f1,*f2;

f1=f2=&a;

*f2+=*f2+=a+=2.5;

printf("\n%d %d %d",a,*f1,*f2);

}

Answer:

16 16 16

Explanation:

f1 and f2 both refer to the same memory location a. So changes through f1 and f2 ultimately affects only the value of a.

When sizeof operator is applied to an array it returns the sizeof the array and it is not the same as the sizeof the pointer variable. Here the sizeof(a) where a is the character array and the size of the array is 5 because the space necessary for the terminating NULL character should also be taken into account.

Arrays cannot be passed to functions as arguments and only the pointers can be passed. So the argument is equivalent to int * array (this is one of the very few places where [] and * usage are equivalent). The return statement becomes, sizeof(int *)/ sizeof(int) that happens to be equal in this case.

148) main()

{

static int a[3][3]={1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9};

int i,j;

static *p[]={a,a+1,a+2};

for(i=0;i<3;i++)

{

for(j=0;j<3;j++)

printf("%d\t%d\t%d\t%d\n",*(*(p+i)+j),

*(*(j+p)+i),*(*(i+p)+j),*(*(p+j)+i));

}

}

Answer:

1 1 1 1

2 4 2 4

3 7 3 7

4 2 4 2

5 5 5 5

6 8 6 8

7 3 7 3

8 6 8 6

9 9 9 9

Explanation:

*(*(p+i)+j) is equivalent to p[i][j].

149) main()

{

void swap();

int x=10,y=8;

swap(&x,&y);

printf("x=%d y=%d",x,y);

}

void swap(int *a, int *b)

{

*a ^= *b, *b ^= *a, *a ^= *b;

}

Answer:

x=10 y=8

Explanation:

Using ^ like this is a way to swap two variables without using a temporary variable and that too in a single statement.

Inside main(), void swap(); means that swap is a function that may take any number of arguments (not no arguments) and returns nothing. So this doesn’t issue a compiler error by the call swap(&x,&y); that has two arguments.

This convention is historically due to pre-ANSI style (referred to as Kernighan and Ritchie style) style of function declaration. In that style, the swap function will be defined as follows,

void swap()

int *a, int *b

{

*a ^= *b, *b ^= *a, *a ^= *b;

}

where the arguments follow the (). So naturally the declaration for swap will look like, void swap() which means the swap can take any number of arguments.

150) main()

{

int i = 257;

int *iPtr = &i;

printf("%d %d", *((char*)iPtr), *((char*)iPtr+1) );

}

Answer:

1 1

Explanation:

The integer value 257 is stored in the memory as, 00000001 00000001, so the individual bytes are taken by casting it to char * and get printed.